“The flooding is so frustrating,” she said today, “I mean, to the point where one moment my basement is clear and the next it’s basically a pool of contaminated water.”

The water is contaminated because Camden’s stormwater and sewage systems are combined.

Now, an effort — called “Camden SMART” (Stormwater Management And Resource Training) — has begun construction on a new system to deliver stormwater to the Delaware River.

“This is the low point in the city, so that’s where the stormwater deposits now,” notes Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority executive director Andy Kricun. “We’re going to be capturing it in this new stormwater line, taking it to the new stream, and taking it to the river.”